Chapter 72 The Marquis believed that people could come back to life...
Caught off guard, the crown prince was knocked down onto the stone table by Li Pan's punch.
He felt a sharp pain and tried to retaliate, but before he could fully raise his fist, it was blocked by Li Pan's iron-like wrist. He was restrained, unable to move forward or backward, and the next moment, he heard another muffled thud as the other half of his face was punched.
The impact of his fist and cheekbone caused immense pain, making the prince wonder if his face was shattered.
He had practiced riding and archery, and had martial arts skills, but he was no match for a general like Li Pan, who had fought his way up from the battlefield.
In the dim light, he couldn't see Li Pan's expression or movements, but could hear his gloomy breathing and was forced to endure his raging anger.
He was once again grabbed by the collar and pulled up by Li Pan, who punched him in the abdomen. His vision went black, and he felt as if his internal organs had shifted.
"Stop! Stop it now!" Lou Xueying screamed, grabbing Li Pan's leg. "My lord! Please stop hitting him, my lord!"
Then they heard a series of chaotic footsteps outside, and the bamboo curtain was suddenly lifted. When they saw the scene inside the pavilion, the officials all gasped in shock.
This, this, this...
Without a second thought, the men quickly pulled the Crown Prince and Marquis Wu'an apart. Marquis Wu'an, panting heavily, stared at the Crown Prince and sneered, "Forgive my rudeness, but I truly do not know what Your Highness is doing here, harassing my wife on this dark and windy night!"
The prince did not answer, but breathed heavily and raised his hand to wipe the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
The officials dared not utter a sound, filled with deep regret, wishing they could go blind and deaf on the spot.
At the banquet, Marquis Wu'an said he wanted to take his family back to the northwest to guard the border. After the banquet, the emperor summoned them to the palace to discuss matters. He talked about military affairs in almost every detail, leaving everyone with a headache and wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.
After much difficulty, His Majesty released the people, and the group returned together. However, as they approached the place where Lady Wu'an was waiting, they vaguely heard the sounds of a man and woman arguing.
It's so late, and people are still making noise here? This area is the royal palace!
Before they could make a move, they saw Marquis Wu'an frown and quickly run over.
Then they rounded the corner and saw Marquis Wu'an lift the bamboo curtain and rush into the pavilion.
The officials exchanged bewildered glances—everyone knew that Lady Wu'an was staying in this pavilion. Could the voice they had just heard have come from here? And in the dead of night, which man was Lady Wu'an with?
Before they could even finish exchanging glances, they heard a scream from inside the pavilion from the Lady of Wu'an.
Why are they fighting? The group sensed something was wrong and immediately rushed over.
But to everyone's surprise, the one being beaten inside was actually His Highness the Crown Prince.
They never dreamed that anyone would dare to assault His Highness the Crown Prince; this was a capital offense!
But what I never dreamed of was that His Highness the Crown Prince, who was always as pure as a gentle breeze and a bright moon, would actually do such an indecent thing here!
Look at Lady Wu'an's disheveled clothes and tear-streaked face. When Wu'an said that the Crown Prince was "entangled," he was probably using an understatement.
Everyone knows how much Marquis Wu'an dotes on this lady; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he cherishes her like a precious jewel. Yet, such a thing happened right in front of him tonight, so it seems understandable that he flew into a rage and struck her.
Why would His Highness the Crown Prince do such a thing? Could it be that he drank too much tonight?
The group of people kept their eyes down, pretending to be dead.
Lou Xueying collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Li Pan, with a stern face, lifted her up, but her legs were weak and she couldn't muster any strength. So Li Pan simply picked her up horizontally, pressed her face against his chest, and said coldly, "If Your Highness wants to question me, I have nothing to say. It's just a pity that I died young and had no chance to see the Northwest unified."
Upon hearing this, several officials' expressions changed.
The commotion finally alerted the patrolling guards in the distance. The guards rushed over, and when they saw the pavilion full of people, they all looked surprised and dared not make any rash moves.
Seeing that no one spoke, Li Pan continued, "If Your Highness does not intend to punish me, then I thank Your Highness for your magnanimity. I take my leave."
After saying that, he picked up Lou Xueying, and without hesitation, turned and left, ignoring the surprised looks of everyone.
The crown prince, leaning on the edge of the table, stared at Li Pan's departing figure and suddenly coughed.
With Li Pan gone, some extra light finally shone into the pavilion, and the head of the guards finally noticed the wound on the Crown Prince's face, exclaiming in shock, "Your Highness, what happened to you...?"
"Get out!" the prince roared, and everyone immediately disappeared without a trace, not daring to linger.
-
Lou Xueying huddled in Li Pan's arms, glancing at him tremblingly. She could only see his tight lips and ashen face.
She didn't know how to start a conversation; only tears streamed down her face, flowing from the corners of her eyes into her hair and wetting his sleeves.
Li Pan remained silent, carrying her all the way from the inner courtyard to the outer courtyard, and back to the small courtyard where they lived.
They returned too late; the lights weren't on inside. Li Pan kicked open the door and asked, "Can you stand up by yourself?"
Lou Xueying said in a hoarse voice, "...Yes."
Li Pan then put Lou Xueying down.
When he finished lighting the lamp and turned around, he saw that Lou Xueying had already closed the door and was kneeling in front of him.
Li Pan vigorously wiped his face and leaned back against the table.
This time, he didn't rush to help her up; he just looked at her intently.
Lou Xueying's eyes were already swollen and red, but tears were still flowing out. She choked up and couldn't say a complete sentence.
Li Pan watched her silently for a long time until her crying gradually stopped. Only then did he pour her a glass of water and hand it to her.
Lou Xueying took the cup with trembling hands. She hadn't felt thirsty at first, but as soon as her lips touched the water, she suddenly felt a dryness and pain in her throat. She drank the whole cup of water in just two or three sips.
She held the empty cup in her hand, unsure whether to return it to Li Pan.
"You knelt before me like this last time, confessing your affair with the Emperor," Li Pan said calmly. "And now you're kneeling before me again, wanting to confess your affair with the Crown Prince?"
Lou Xueying's face turned pale, and the empty cup slipped from her hand with a clatter.
Li Pan: "If you think kneeling will make you feel at ease and soften my heart, then you can continue kneeling like this. If you think kneeling won't solve the problem, then get up."
"My lord..."
"Lou Xueying," Li Pan said, "If you're still kneeling after I count to three, I'll treat you as an ordinary citizen asking for help. Once this matter is resolved, we'll be even. What we said during the day will be disregarded."
Lou Xueying was stunned.
"three."
"two."
"one."
Lou Xueying stood up.
She stood with her head down, the same height as the man who sat by the table with one leg bent.
Li Pan crossed his arms, looked her straight in the eye, and said in a calm tone, "Now can you explain to me what it means that you and the Crown Prince have a child?"
He found it hard to describe how he felt when he heard the Crown Prince say those words through the bamboo curtain. He couldn't even remember what he was thinking at the time, or maybe he wasn't thinking anything at all. In short, by the time he realized what he was doing, he had already punched the Crown Prince twice in the face.
But he didn't regret it.
So he threw a third punch at the prince's abdomen.
He thought for a long time about what he should ask her and how he should ask her, but he couldn't figure it out.
The only thing he was certain of was that he could throw a punch at the Crown Prince without regard for the consequences, but when facing her, he had to put aside his emotions and remain calm in order to know everything he wanted to know.
"I..." Lou Xueying's tears, which she had just stopped, were about to fall again. "I...I didn't mean to deceive the Marquis. I did think of telling the Marquis, but the Marquis doesn't believe in ghosts and gods, and I didn't know how to bring it up..."
Li Pan frowned: "What does this have to do with ghosts and gods?"
Lou Xueying: "Does Your Excellency believe that people have past and present lives? Does Your Excellency believe that people can be brought back to life?"
On her way back, she kept thinking about what to do.
Her prediction about the bear hunt was wrong, and she couldn't rely on her clairvoyant abilities to convince Li Pan, who didn't believe in ghosts or gods. So, she originally planned to find another time to tell Li Pan her past life as a story first, and see his reaction. If he showed pity for the woman in the story, then she would tell him that it was her story.
But who knew that something like this would happen tonight?
Now that things have come to this, she has to speak up, whatever his thoughts may be.
Li Pan stared at her intently, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
“The reason why the Marquis doesn’t believe me is because the Marquis hasn’t experienced it. I believe you because I have.” Lou Xueying sniffed and said, “I am actually… someone who has already died once. Not just almost died, but truly died. The Marquis thinks he has only lived one life, but little does he know, this is already my second life with the Marquis.”
Li Pan blinked rapidly, a look of disbelief on his face.
Lou Xueying: "Does Your Excellency think I'm crazy? I'm not crazy, nor am I making things up. I am a reborn person, and there happen to be two other reborn people in this world. If Your Excellency is bold enough, you can go and verify with them."
Li Pan: "...Who is it?"
“One is the emperor, and the other is the crown prince,” Lou Xueying said softly. “Didn’t you find it strange that their relationship suddenly deteriorated? Actually, it’s just because they have both been reborn. The things from their past lives have carried over to this life, and they feel that the lingering resentment is hard to let go, so they have to fight to the death.”
Li Pan's brows were furrowed as tightly as they could possibly be.
He clearly still didn't quite believe what she said, but instead of questioning her directly, he followed her lead and asked, "If that's the case, what exactly happened in your past life?"
Lou Xueying's eyelashes trembled slightly: "In my past life... I was the Crown Prince's... betrothed Crown Princess."
Li Pan stared in astonishment, his eyes widening.
...
Lou Xueying recounted those unbearable past events in an extremely slow voice. Li Pan initially leaned against the table, listening with a suspicious look on his face. Later, he slowly straightened up, his expression becoming serious. Finally, he could no longer sit still and stood up, staring intently at Lou Xueying.
Finally, when she spoke of Yao Biyue giving birth to a daughter for the Crown Prince—or more accurately, for the new Emperor—she choked up again, tears blurring her vision.
Li Pan waited in silence.
It took her a long time to calm down before she managed to continue, "He has no son, so he wants me to give him one, saying that he'll make him the crown prince..."
Li Pan's voice was ethereal: "Can a child born to a woman without a title become the crown prince?"
"I don't know..." Lou Xueying said softly, "but I did end up... pregnant..."
In the autumn, the female physician diagnosed her with pregnancy and immediately reported it to the new emperor.
The new emperor was overjoyed. Although he did not yet know the gender of the child, he already regarded the child in her womb as a precious treasure. He took even more meticulous care of her, and surrounded her with a group of people whenever she did anything, as if she were a useless person who could not take care of herself.
Even so, the child could not be saved.
Her body was too weak, and no matter how much care she took, she still started bleeding a month after being diagnosed with pregnancy.
The new emperor was furious and wanted to behead everyone, but she was on the verge of death due to a miscarriage at the time. If she replaced everyone, she would definitely not be able to take good care of them, so she eventually put the matter aside.
She was originally just sickly, but after that, she truly became a useless person unable to take care of herself.
Li Pan stared at her blankly.
Lou Xueying: "Sometimes I think, it's such a poor child, how did it have to be born into my belly, without even a chance to see the world. But sometimes I also think, it's also a lucky child, leaving this world unknowingly is much better than being born a deformed child and facing all kinds of suffering."
Li Pan: "...How could he be a deformed child?"
Tears welled up in Lou Xueying's eyes: "My lord, why do you think I haven't given birth to a child in the five years I've been in the palace?"
Because she had been using contraceptive soup.
On the second day after she gained the emperor's favor, the empress sent a head maid to deliver a bowl of medicinal soup to the emperor while he went to the morning court.
It was said to be a tonic, but everyone knew what kind of medicine it was. Without saying a word, she drank the soup clean under the watchful eye of the head palace maid.
She drank it willingly.
Later, seeing that she was honest, the Empress gradually stopped sending people to deliver it, but she herself continued to take it.
No concubine didn't want a child. Even if it was just for their own future care, regardless of gender, they all needed a child to rely on.
But she never thought of that.
If she gave birth to a princess, that would be fine, but if it was a prince, she was well aware of the threat a prince born to a favored concubine would pose to the crown prince.
She didn't want to put the emperor, the crown prince, the empress, or herself in a difficult position.
Therefore, she personally eliminated all potential threats.
Leaving aside the few months of stalemate between her and the emperor when she first entered the palace, for more than four years, she was the sole favorite in the harem, yet she did not conceive. Logically, this should have attracted attention long ago.
But no one has ever mentioned this.
There wasn't even an emperor.
The imperial physician regularly checked her pulse every month, and he would occasionally inquire about her health. Upon hearing that she was healthy, he would nod in relief. However, he never asked the physician why the Imperial Concubine had not conceived yet.
Perhaps they didn't think of it, perhaps they didn't care, or perhaps they deliberately overlooked it.
But in any case, no one ever mentioned it.
She had been drinking contraceptive soup for more than four years, and she thought she had long since lost her ability to have children. Who would have thought that under the care of the female doctor, she would actually conceive one day.
From the day she learned she was pregnant, she lived in constant fear.
She repeatedly asked the female doctor if there would be any problems with the many contraceptive soups she had consumed, but the doctor couldn't give a definite answer. Every time she took those pregnancy-preserving medicines, she felt like she was raising a monster.
Fortunately, the child finally passed away. Although she was greatly exhausted, she was finally at peace.
"I think I died well, peacefully, in my sleep, without any pain." Lou Xueying wiped her eyes and chuckled softly. "This is my life in my previous life. If you don't believe me, then just consider it a story."
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